


Hide My Wings Tonight

by LadyShadowphyre



Series: Phoenix and Dragon [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Handcuffs, M/M, Michael is a little bit of a troll, References to Cage Trauma, References to anxiety, brief Castiel cameo, brief Dean Winchester cameo, mentions of holy fire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 21:22:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16145774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyShadowphyre/pseuds/LadyShadowphyre
Summary: It was never about control, not between the two of them. It was about trust.





	Hide My Wings Tonight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Zetal (Rodinia)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rodinia/gifts).



> Written for Round 21 of the [SPN Rare Ships Creation Challenge](http://rareshipcreationschallenge.tumblr.com/).
> 
> Special thanks to [Rodinia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rodinia/pseuds/Zetal), [Barry](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BarryAllenIsTheFlash/pseuds/BarryAllenIsTheFlash), [Karate](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karategrl80/pseuds/Karategrl80), and [Thallan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThallenCambricaltran/pseuds/ThallenCambricaltran) for all the help and support you give me as I pull this universe out of my head piece by piece. I appreciate you all so much!
> 
> Michael's alternate vessel is represented by Greek actor [Theo Theodoridis](https://i.pinimg.com/236x/21/33/b9/2133b94a7d367f48f5f63fda9cff3808.jpg).

**I** T HAD TAKEN some trial and error before they found something that worked for both of them. Actual restraints had too many negative associations for Sam, which tended to make Michael anxious, and neither of them could be held by conventional chains anyway. Dean had been the one to joke that they should just make matching Enochian friendship bracelets, but even he hadn't expected them to take him seriously. Michael was determined, however, and Sam was downright frighteningly creative when he chose to be, and the results of their efforts were a matched set of leather wristbands with carefully tooled Enochian sigils that bind an angel's Grace into their vessel, bringing their strength and senses to baseline human normal.

The first time Michael wore his cuff, it scared him so badly that Sam almost called the whole thing off if Michael hadn't vehemently clutched his cuffed wrist to his chest where Sam couldn't get at the buckle to remove it. It took several minutes, and a lot of cuddling, before Michael could explain how having his true form bound tightly down into the confines of the physical human body and the sudden reduction of his senses felt-- wrapped in a thick, tight blanket that prevented all but the most basic of movements, deaf to all but the faintest sounds, blind to all but the most limited impressions. "Like being trapped in a ring of holy fire, only without the certainty of death if the line is crossed."

(If Sam privately had a word with Dean about that comparison and the two of them agreed that holy fire should only be used on dangerous angels in emergencies, neither Michael nor Castiel called them on it.)

The cuffs had less of a psychological effect on Sam, as the hunter had spent most of his existence as a human, if somewhat above baseline standard in strength and sensory perception. His cuff was more about keeping a tight rein on his newly angelic strength and perceptions so as to keep himself from accidentally hurting Michael when his lover wore his own cuff and thus couldn't protect himself from injury by inexperienced angelic flailing. Brought to human levels, the worst damage he could accidentally cause to his lover was some spectacular bruising that could disappear with a thought the moment the cuffs came off again, or linger as territorial markings as either of them desired.

That happened more often than Sam had initially expected. For the Prince of Heaven and High Commander of the Host, Michael actually deeply enjoyed walking around with the bruises and bite marks Sam left behind on full display. The one time Sam had asked, Michael had admitted that he liked to see the looks on the faces of the other angels when they saw their Commander wearing Sam's marks. Sam hadn't felt comfortable asking just what looks his mate was getting, but he guessed it had something to do with the hierarchical nature of angels and defying of angelic social norms. In other words, Michael was trolling them.

Not that Sam could really disagree, given the amusement he derived from seeing the look on Dean's face on the mornings that Sam and Michael joined him and Castiel for breakfast after one of  _ those _ nights. Every new configuration of bruising between the two of them brought about a new mix of pride and disgust from Dean at the sight of evidence that his little brother was regularly getting laid. Sam was never entirely sure how to categorize the look on Castiel's face when the seraph saw the bruises, but Michael assured him that Castiel's feelings on the matter of Michael and Sam's relationship in general (and the use of the Enochian cuffs in particular) were the most positive and supportive out of any of the angels, so he let it go. Whatever it was Castiel was feeling, he would tell them when he was ready for them to know.

The leather hissed softly as it slid through the metal buckle, closing the circuit of spellwork. Sam slowly let the air out of his lungs as the world lurched around him and his perceptions shrank and dimmed until he was looking at Michael through human eyes and seeing only his mate's vessel's face. Meeting Michael's worried gaze with a reassuring smile, he flexed the muscles around his wrist testingly - still a good fit, still comfortable rather than confining - and then held out his hand. The concern didn't precisely disappear, but it did fade behind Michael's answering smile as the Archangel presented the second cuff to Sam along with his own wrist.

They always did it this way, a ritual of consent as much as safety. Michael, the older of the two if not strictly the stronger, was better able to handle anything that might go wrong if Sam's cuff was damaged or tampered with. Once Sam adjusted, he was then able to watch for anything off about Michael's own binding and rip the cuff away if something went wrong on the technical end, and he was clear-headed and calm enough to comfort and soothe Michael through the shift of perception if the Archangel had a bad reaction to being bound.

The sound of leather on metal was drowned out by the sharp intake of breath as the circuit closed, Michael's eyes blown wide to try and catch the last echoes of angelic sight. Sam watched closely as the pupils in those moss green eyes contracted sharply before slowly expanding again, adjusting to the light of the lamps at human speed. "Alright?"

"Yes," Michael said at length, the word slipping free on the end of a slow exhale. The wrist Sam still held twisted, and strong fingers found and tangled with his own, squeezing almost too gently-- strength was always the last to fall in line. "I'm fine,  _ o'el o'elape'ira'eta'a _ ."

"And you'll tell me if you're ever not fine, right,  _ o'el i'a'elapera'eya'i _ ?" Sam confirmed, waiting for Michael's soft smile and nod before drawing his lover close, wrapping his arms around the smaller frame and holding him against his chest. Michael all but melted against him, eyelids fluttering closed as he relaxed into Sam's embrace and eagerly allowed his beloved to be the strong one for now.

**-End-**

**Author's Note:**

> **Enochian Translation Notes:**
> 
>  
> 
>  _o'el o'elape'ira'eta'a_ = "My Light." (With heavy emphasis on comparison to the Light of Heaven.)  
>  _o'el i'a'elapera'eya'i_ = "My Fire." (With similar emphasis on comparison to the Celestial Eternal Flames.)


End file.
